Handgrips of golf clubs must be periodically replaced when they become old and worn. In replacing the handgrips or "regripping" a set of golf clubs, the first task is the removal of the old or worn handgrips. Most handgrips available today are in the form of unitary sleeves open at one end for being telescopically fitted onto the shaft of golf clubs and which are more or less permanently bonded or cemented onto the shaft. In stripping or removing such handgrips from the club shafts, the first step generally involves cutting longitudinally through the leather, rubber or composite material of which most handgrips are presently formed. The handgrip is usually cut from end-to-end over its full length after which it can be stripped or peeled from the shaft and in most cases if properly done, there will be only a small residue of the bonding agent that remains on the shaft which can be easily removed by using the appropriate solvent.
During such cutting and stripping operations, the golf club may be either clamped in a bench vise or hand held. The cutting operation usually involves the use of a knife having a sharp blade which, in combination of sufficient downward pressure being exerted on the knife, is capable of cutting clean through the handgrip material. As a result, the blade, if properly used, will cut radially through the handgrip material down to the shaft. With the shaft being round in cross-section, there is a tendency, when attempting to cut through the handgrip, for the blade to slip laterally to one side or the other depending on the direction and force involved. In such cases, the user may suffer, at best, a work delay in repositioning the blade at the point of the cut where the knife slipped from the work or, at worst, a traumatic injury. For instance, the person's workhand might forcefully impact against some hard and immovable object in the vicinity of the work or if the worker's free arm or other part of the person's body should happen to be in the path of the blade when such a slip occurs, a serious wound or cut may result thereby requiring first aid or even medical attention. The tendency for accidents to occur is inversely proportional to the skill, dexterity and care being exercised by the worker and more or less directly proportional to the speed and the number of shafts to be regripped and the amount of time available to complete the work. Since club regripping usually involves a full set of clubs and the basis for the charges is a set dollar amount, e.g., $4.00 per club, including the cost of the handgrip, it is important that the job be expeditiously completed without any untoward incidents.
Traditionally, most golf club facilities have not used any cutting aides in club regripping work although a blade-holding cutting tool has recently found some acceptance in the golf trade for regripping golf clubs. That cutting tool includes a slotted planar base through which a special blade retractably extends. At one side edge of the base, a skirt extends downward and is adapted to engage one side surface of the handgrip when disposed in cutting relation on the handgrip to be stripped from the shaft of a golf club. A tubular handle is disposed at the upper edge of the tool. When the tool is being used, the blade is adjusted to extend below the base a distance sufficient to slice through the thickest portion of the handgrip. The cutting device is then placed with its planar base against the upper surface of the handgrip at a point adjacent the butt end thereof and while pressing the cutter downwardly, it is slid along the length of the handgrip with the skirt slidably disposed against the side of the handgrip as the blade slices thereinto.
One of the drawbacks of using this device is that when the blade is set for cutting through the thicker end of the handgrip, the tip of the blade will necessarily extend so far below the base that its lower surface will not make surface-to-surface or flush contact with the handgrip. As a result of the blade extension being set or fixed for each cutting operation while the thickness of each handgrip decreases from the butt end of the handgrip toward the inner end thereof, the cutting tool is relatively unstable while cutting over the full length of the handgrip and becomes more unstable when cutting through the thinner portion of the handgrip. In addition, that cutting tool is limited to using only blades especially adapted to be fitted into the holder.